Today, on Today, Billy Ray Cyrus spoke publicly with Meredith Vieira about his daughter Miley’s controversial Vanity Fair photo shoot.

He explains that he left soon after taking photos with Miley and was no longer around when the “scandalous” photos were taken of his 15-year-old daughter.

Oh Lord, no. I wasn’t there when the picture was taken… I thought everything was under control. Her publicist was there… I didn’t know they was gonna strip her down and wrap her with a blanket.

Though Cyrus doesn’t approve of the photograph, he realizes that there is not much he can do to fix the situation.

My dad always told me the more you stomp in poop, the more it stinks. So, I was just, ‘OK, this happened. We got to deal with it.’

Vieira also commented on the photo of Miley in Papa Billy Ray’s lap, stating that it made them look more like a romantic couple than father and daughter.

Billy Ray laughed off the uncomfortable comment and responded, “that’s just a daddy who loves his daughter a whole lot.”

Though he had his stereotypical ignorant hick moments, Billy Ray handled the interview very well. He recognizes that all of this public scrutiny comes with the business. It’s like that old saying, “The turkey with the longest neck’s always going to be the one everyone’s shootin’ at.”

Absolutely right, Billy Ray. Ever thought of writing such wise quotes for Budweiser bottle caps?

Wait, get your pen and paper out, there’s more:

“For every action there’s an opposite and equal reaction. For every high, there’s a low. It’s just the way life is. She has a dream. She loves what she does for a living, she just loves it.

Yeah, a really nice living. As long as little Hannah Montana is bringing in the big bucks, everything’s cool, right Dad?

Click here to watch the interview.